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Tinker Air Force Base officials say 17 personnel have died this year. After being first reported by military.com, Tinker Installation Commander, Col. Abigail Ruscetta now confirms that Tinker Air Force Base has ‘experienced 17 deaths since January.’ According to Ruscetta, 11 uniformed and civilian Airmen died as a result of natural causes or accidents. The six remaining deaths are a result of other causes, some of which remain under investigation. Ruscetta says most of those who died were civilians

DENVER -- Thousands saw a plane circling the Denver metro area late Wednesday morning, questioning where it may have come from and what it may be doing. Officials at a host of federal organizations had few answers. Denver7 began tracking a flight named IRON99 as it traversed from California over the pacific. It traveled over the Rocky Mountains and eventually over the Denver metro area. Its arrival over the Denver metro is what prompted questions from a host of locals who saw it circling, questioning what it might have been doing. Visually, the plane circled in a racetrack-style oval shape...

A routine training flight by the U.S. Navy’s E-6B Mercury “doomsday plane” captured the attention of sky-watchers this week in Colorado. The four-engine command-and-control plane based on Boeing Co.’s 707 airliner on Wednesday took off from Travis Air Force Base in California and circled over Denver before continuing on to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. It was apparently the hour-long racetrack holding pattern that turned the heads. “Did you see this today?” a newscaster at the KMGH, the local ABC affiliate, asked during a broadcast. “There was this plane just circling the metro, circling and circling, and many of...

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base located in Oklahoma City, near the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma. Tinker is the home of the Air Force Materiel Command Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) (FHZ) which is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft, engines, missiles, software and avionics and accessories components. The host unit at Tinker is the 72d Air Base Wing (72 ABW) which provides services and support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center and its tenant...

The next step in the largest block upgrade in the history of the E-3 Sentry, or Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft occurred Nov. 18 at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., when the first aircraft receiving the block 40/45 modification was inducted by the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center. New mission software will enhance tracking and combat identification capabilities, in addition to providing operators with a better picture of the battlespace. "This modification replaces a mission computer system originally installed in the 1970s," said Maj. Brett Johnson, the AWACS the 40/45 Production chief. "The new system will have an open,...

Airmen from the 566th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron completed work on extending the service life of the first of 16 Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft June 15. The E-6Bs are flown by members of the Strategic Communications Wing ONE, whose primary mission is airborne communication with Navy submarines. It also serves as an airborne command post for U.S. Strategic Command. Officials said the maintenance process had its share of ups and downs as the first aircraft warranted more attention than usual, but mechanics don't anticipate that to be the case for the remaining 15 aircraft. "We really aggressively pursued and accomplished success...

SAN DIEGO — The officer in charge of a Navy flight squadron that provides the president and the defense secretary the airborne ability to command and control the nation's nuclear submarines, bombers and missile silos has been relieved of duty, FOX News has confirmed.

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- An Air Force member killed his two children before killing himself in a military campus house at Tinker Air Force Base on Monday, authorities said. According to Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel, a military member and his ex-wife were involved in an altercation just before 2:30 p.m. The ex-wife left the home and heard gunshots, Whetsel said. Tactical teams arrived by about 2:40 p.m. Nearly two hours later, they gained entry into the home, where they found three people dead -- including two children, ages 4 and 8. Whetsel said his department is investigating...

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) -- For the past week, news stations have been running nonstop coverage about the devastation in the Gulf Coast region. People have seen heroic rescues from rooftops and flooded homes, families opening their homes to those in need, and countless people and organizations donating money, supplies. Airmen with the 552nd Air Control Wing here are no different. On Sept. 3, they began supporting search-and-rescue operations in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, and they leaped at the chance to make a difference. “Everyone wanted to be the first to go,” said Maj. Raymond Lewis, mission crew...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The FBI says a report about a possible terrorist threat at Tinker Air Force Base at Midwest City was not credible, but the agency isn't saying why. A July 13th report said three people who appeared to be Middle Eastern were seen near Tinker looking through binoculars, taking photos and pointing what appeared to be a rocket launcher at an airplane flying over the base. An early description of the incident wound up circulating among Air Force personnel and on the Internet. FBI spokesman Gary Johnson says police were notified, but after a thorough investigation no...

This week, New Jersey Transit officials joined the New York Police Department in performing hapless random searches of Granny's knitting bag and Junior's Thomas the Tank backpack to prevent the next al-Qaida attack. But not everyone is fighting the War on Terror blind. Some U.S. military personnel have been given a very clear and un-politically correct mission: Be on the lookout for Middle Easterners carrying rocket launchers. Yup, that's right. Many readers have e-mailed me about a recent report floating on the Internet that reveals military concerns about a suspicious trio of Middle Eastern men who apparently pointed a rocket...

The following "REAL WORLD" notice was just received from an SFTT supporter. The full notice is a 2-page document posted below. The danger to US commercial & military aircraft in CONUS appears to be very real. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REAL WORLD TEAM TINKER BATTLE STAFF DIRECTIVE (BSD) BSD # 41 DTG 140825L Jul 05L OPR: All SUSPENSE: Upon receipt SUBJECT: BSD# 40 Amendment SITUATION: On 14 Jul 05, three individuals were observed outside of the perimeter of Tinker AFB, OK. They were looking through binoculars, taking pictures and one appeared to be holding a large weapon at chest level. The weapon appeared...

Three men described as Middle Eastern-looking were seen aiming a rocket launcher at a low-flying B-1 Bomber near Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Air Force security pursued the suspects, who got away, but left behind their rocket launcher, according to a July 14 Air Force staff directive obtained by WND. The three suspects were observed outside the perimeter of the air base, looking through binoculars and aiming the weapon at chest level, according to the report. The FBI and Air Force security are investigating the incident, which suggests a threat to military and commercial flights within the U.S. from...

AN AIR BASE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION — From chaos comes order. Or, at least, “organized chaos,” according to Capt. Brian Thomas, executive officer for Col. Terry New, the commander of the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing. He was describing the creation of an expeditionary wing, the joining of disparate parts into one unified whole. Thomas knows about this. His job back at Aviano Air Base, Italy, is executive officer for the commander of the 16th Air Expeditionary Wing. “You can’t apply a cookie cutter mentality,” he said. “You have no idea what you do or do not need until...